WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation’s highest court has decided to allow a lawsuit to move forward which threatens to shut down gaming at the Gun Lake Casino in Wayland Township.

In an 8-1 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld a lower court decision to allow former Wayland Township trustee David Patchak to continue with his lawsuit in federal district court.

Patchak, backed by anonymous benefactors, has challenged how the federal government took land in trust for the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, in order for them to construct a casino.

Patchak alleges the move was illegal since the tribe had not been recognized by the government in 1934 when the Indian Reorganization Act was passed. When the tribe received official recognition from the federal government in 1993 it purchased 147 acres of land known as the Bradley Tract near Patchak’s home in the hopes of building a casino.

The government and the tribe contend that all such lawsuits are barred by the federal Quiet Title Act.